Which to use
“fröhlich” and “fröhlichen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,950
- “fröhlich” frequency rank
- #15,094
- “fröhlichen” frequency rank
- 21044
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fröhlich | fröhlichen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | von froher, heiterer Art seiend; in guter Stimmung | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs fröhlich |
Where the eye mixes fröhlich and fröhlichen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: fröhlich vs fröhlichen
A purely visual mix-up. fröhlich ([ˈfʁøːlɪç]) and fröhlichen ([ˈfʁøːlɪçn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “fröhlich” sits inside “fröhlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21044, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fröhlich is recorded at frequency rank #5,950, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʁøːlɪç]. fröhlichen is at rank #15,094, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʁøːlɪçn̩].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 21044, this pair ranks #1,890,804 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fröhlich vs fröhlichen
Shared letters: cfhilrö. Private to "fröhlich": -. Private to "fröhlichen": en.
"fröhlich" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC · "fröhlichen" · 10 letters · shape CCVCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fröhlich" for "fröhlichen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "fröhlich" or "fröhlichen"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fröhlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fröhlichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,890,804 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fröhlich" and "fröhlichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fraglichen vs fröhlichen". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,890,804 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.